Karen Plant Profile: Flowering Ash (Fraxinus dipetala)
Flowering ash, also called California ash and two-petal ash, is a deciduous small tree or large shrub native California, northwestern Arizona, southern Nevada, Utah and norther Baja California where it…
Plant Combination: White Sage (Artemisia ludoviciana) ‘Silver King’ and Wallflower (Erysimum linifolium) ‘Bowles Beauty’
This silver and purple duo provides all season interest but is especially striking in early summer when the wallflower blooms. The purple color of ‘Bowles Beauty’ could be garish but…
Plant Profile: Rose Don Juan
Dark crimson ruffled flowers open from pointed ovoid buds and are carried singly or in small clusters on long strong stems. They have the form of a Hybrid Tea and…
Book Review: The Humane Gardener
For centuries mankind has thought of the natural environment as something to conquer and control but that is changing and Nancy Lawson’s book, The Humane Gardener, is an eloquent voice…
Weeds and Their Control: Corn Speedwell (Veronica arvensis)
Corn speedwell is a clump-forming annual native of Europe, Africa, and Asia where it grows in disturbed areas such as garden, lawns, pastures and waste places. It and is a…
Plant Profile: Tan Oak (Notholithocarpus densiflorus aka Lithocarpus densiflorus)
Tan oak is an evergreen shrub or tree native to western US from Oregon to California where it grows on dry, rocky slopes and in chaparral. It is a member…
Shakespeare’s Garden: Barley
Barley (Hordeum vulgare) is a major cereal grain and a member of the grass family (Poaceae). It is an annual and grows over 36 inches tall so is considered a…
Plant Profile: Bluebloosom (Ceanothus thyrsiflorus)
Blueblossom, also known as wild/California lilac, is an evergreen shrub endemic to southern Oregon to southern California where it grows in open woods and chaparral of coastal mountains. It is…
Book Review: The New California Wine
If you have been drinking California wines over the last several decades you might have noticed that they are constantly changing. These changes are the focus of Jon Bonne’s book,…